Page tags

Yoichi brings a team to try and find out more about where the Shirayuki from the previous mission were headed.

"Ice Age - Snow on the Trail"

East of the Land of the Demons

After getting Kiji back safely to Kirigakure, Yoichi decided to head back to the area of the battle with a small team. Though he imagines the group will have all cleared out by the time they arrive, he hopes there will be tracks enough that will perhaps lead them to where the enemies were headed. Of course, he also expects them to have already or be working on covering their tracks. Still, since at least most of them should be gone, he figures he shouldn't have to bring Jounin along for this one, thus he brought Okami and Kazumi to assist with this. Okami, probably because she can use her spiders to help figure out some details. Kazumi… probably because he needs some more mission experience.
And that is where the scene begins. As a ship makes it to dock at a beach and an anchor is lead down, Yoichi takes off on the trail toward where he, Kiji, and Naoya intersected the Shirayuki caravan team so they can follow that trail to where the encampment was.

And the lass followed.. it's not really like she could refuse the call of a superior anyway, she and her little ones follow the lead of the Swordsman closely, ears shifting and eyes alert the entire way there- even if there isn't expected resistance, foreign territory is always hostile and always deserves resolute observation.

Yes… 'Mission experience'. Kazumi would have so much of this type of experience he wouldn't even know what to do with himself. Which is to say it's made a very marginal difference in his abilities, but at the very least, Yoichi might be able to make some kind of information stick. Maybe… Regardless, he followed after quietly, observing Okami. He thinks he may have met her once or twice… but isn't actually sure. He isn't sure what to make of her.

Since there's no one to battle this time, the group is not slowed down, so it doesn't take them too long to find their trail, which they turn on to move forward rapidly. As they move, he brings his hands into a seal, creating a large field of mist ahead of them, but thin enough to be seen as natural. His eyes narrow slightly as he detects what's ahead. "There are men there, but not as many as before," he warns as they move. "Get ready for combat."

Okami follows the swordsman into their mist, drooling with anticipation and eyes scanning here and there. Errant bursts of movement turn her head and jolt down her arms, further highlighting her will to act, and do so quickly. Ready for combat she is, crouching low to where her fingers almost trace the ground.

Kazumi has always figured himself not readily noticable, so he just walks along. He'll be quieter this way, he figures, and does make an effort to keep his footfalls from being too loud. Okami is very ready to fight, where as he… not so much. He takes a tentative, deep breath, and focuses his chakra. He'll do his best, most definitely, but he isn't likely to like doing so.

As the team approaches the area, they would find a group of dozens of mercenaries and one shinobi that appears to be leading the group. What they are doing seems to be literally covering their tracks, using separate wagons to create false tracks around the real ones that led where the main group was going. Luckily the real ones are still much wider and denser than the false ones.
"Attack now… Avoid the leader if you can. I'll try to lead him away. These Shirayuki are not trivial combatants," Yoichi orders as they move forward. He reaches back for his blades then, creating whips of lightning that he rains down upon the mercenaries and their leader alike.

Okami blinks at this.. curious response team, unsure how to reply. So she does it the best way she knows how from a distance, winding up a silk-bound kunai and tossing it into the fray, tugging it back to swipe at a second aggressor and reeling it in as she leaps up to find better concealment low to the ground in the mist, diving into a nice patch and skirting about on all fours.

The pink-haired one gulps and nods his head. Okay. Attacking. Right… Kazumi takes a deep breath and forms seals. He extends his hands and sends out a large current of acid to really mess with these guys. After waiting just a moment to see how well the first one went, he sends out another gush of acid, both enough to hit more than one of the group. They aren't exactly spread out… right?

With the whips coming down, all the mercenaries that are aimed at wind up with whips of lightning around them and shocking them still. Meanwhile those Kazumi is attacking leap out of the way of the coming acid, except for one, who cries out in pain as the acid tears into his skin, and one that Okami strikes at is skewered. The leader, however, brings his hands into a seal and throws up a wall of ice to deflect the whips of lightning coming his way, which marks him as a Shirayuki. Having noticed Yoichi was the one casting the larger jutsu, he brings his hands into a seal and creates a pair of giant beasts of snow that charge after the Swordsman. Meanwhile the mercenaries that aren't stunned charge after Okami and Kazumi.

Something these two wouldn't be used to seeing happens for once. Yoichi takes a hit, and a hard one at that. He's sent flying backwards, though he spins his body to catch himself and flickers forward to where the Shirayuki is at, though about thirty feet in the air above him as he swings the swords back, creating dozens of whips of lightning much longer than before that he sends down upon the leader to try to shock and restrain him.

Okami isn't quite in position to.. avoid being stricken, and her attempt to haphazardly roll out of the way does… not work in time. Instead her henge(which I forgot to useskill for *-*) breaks and a menacing chitter comes from her direction. Into the web has the prey come, will they stumble into the silken trap Okami has weaved while she'd been in cover? She feints at her attacker to knock them into her silken tripline, and pounces to gain a few choice knicks with her claws, laced in venom, before making a little more distance in her haggard state.

Kazumi gulped when he saw those encroaching on their position. He formed seals and brought up a dome of acid to protect himself. He almost expected it to fail…. but when he doesn't feel pain, he blinks in surprise. After a quick moment of bewilderment, he forms more seals and tries to trap as many of those nearby as possible.

Seems no one is going to kill the ones Yoichi originally stunned for them. Bad move, as that leaves more of them alive for the two to deal with while Yoichi keeps the strongest of the enemies busy. The one Okami goes after evades each of her attacks through timed leaps while more of the mercenaries come after her. Kazumi, however, manages to cover those he's after with his acid and keep them from attacking him any further. The Shirayuki as well winds up stunned by the whips wrapping around him and is unable to attack in return.

With his target bound, Yoichi points a finger down at him while he comes down toward the ground. A loud sound of a bang rings out as he sends a drop of water that races off more like a bullet directly at the Shirayuki's chest to try and deal as much damage to him as possible.

Okami isn't having a good day, or these grunts are more talented than her credit for them had warranted. She looses her silk-wrapt kunai again to lash out at the two nearest her and make a retreat to somewhere for cover.

Kazumi looks over to see Okami struggling just a little. So he turns and makes an effort to help her out by attacking them with acid that would stick and burn them. After all, it didn't seem like she was keen on touching them herself, anyway so it worked. Then he'd turn to the ones he'd stunned and do the same. "H-hey," he calls out to her. "How about we… do this together? One of us stuns them, one of them finishes them." With this suggestion, he looks… just a little awkward. At least he's not stuttering.

With the blast through his chest, the Shirayuki falls to the ground for a moment, except he actually doesn't die right away from these injuries. Rather he brings his hands into a seal again and sends more monsters of snow at Yoichi with intent to tear him limb from limb. Meanwhile Kazumi's acid covers many of the mercenaries, causing them to cry out in pain while most of them die from the acid and a couple from the injuries afflicted by Okami. A few manage to escape with less than half remaining now coming at the pair.

Dealing with just one of these guys is a lot easier than many of them at once. Yoichi manages to avoid being injured by having his body splatter around the beast's strikes and reform about ten feet to the side as he stabs each of his blades into the ground. As he points his hands into the sky, a bolt of lightning charges between the hilts of the blades and fires into the sky, creating a surge in the skies that lights up more and more and then strikes down upon the Shirayuki with killing intent.

Okami reigns in her kunai and bursts into evading the first of her attackers, falling short of avoiding the second.. if only she knew she could avoid them, instead of thinking she could. She lashes out with a series of feints and rapid skittering, weaving silken lines around the pair against her and making quick shoves to knock them into the snares and helpless…

Kazumi frowns somewhat, something of a pout as he gets no verbal response from Okami… but she's sort of going through with the plan, anyway, so… whatever. He proceeds to douse the ones she (hopefully) captured in acid and keeps the stream going so he can attack others before they get too close.

While Okami ensnares some of the mercenaries with her webbing, Kazumi covers more of them in acid and sends them screaming to their deaths on the ground despite their attempts to get out of the way of the stream. This leaves only a few of them left. Meanwhile the Shirayuki throws up an wall of ice over himself and keeps the lightning from coming down upon himself. He then shifts his handseals and creates more of the snow monsters to try and tear the Hozuki apart.

Slamming into by the monsters of snow and ice, Yoichi finds himself knocked across the battlefield a bit again. This guy's impressive… but Yoichi won't let himself be beaten when Kazumi is fairing so well against his enemies! He glances over to the direction of that battle and before standing up again as he faces the Shirayuki. Whipping his swords back, he creates dozens of the whips again and tries to bind the Shirayki to try and capture him for a follow-up attack.

Okami attacks the pinned victim, pouncing onto them and gleaming a rapid series of claws to them, then gracefully flips off of them and tosses her favourite silk-tethered shuriken to snick another one of the goons, bladed yo-yo fun~

It seems Okami is having fun and Kazumi needs to recharge, so he stays back and focuses chakra… but his attention is drawn to his sensei and the Shirayuki. He watches carefully now that he's in much less danger, but is still mindful of the ones left over.

With the last of the mercenaries finish, it seems that only Yoichi's troublesome target is left over. The Shirayuki brings up another wall of ice in front of himself that keeps the tails of lightning from touching him. From that same wall burst forth more of the snow monsters coming at the Hozuki trying to tear him apart.

Slammed by the beasts again, Yoichi is planted in the ground, but manages to pick himself up once more. His eyebrows furrow a bit as he whips the blades back again and sends another wave of lightning whips down at the Shirayuki, trying to bind him up. "I've gotta say. You're not bad… But I can't let you slow us down."

Okami sees things are mostly tended to. She winces as she straightens up, forming a few handsigns and filling her hands with bright glow, massaging at her torso and sides quietly, fingers working against her robe and brows furrowed in concentration.

The pink-haired one is not paying attention to Okami anymore and although he doesn't think he's going to necessarily help, he forms seals and focuses a stream of acid at the Shirayuki. At the very least, maybe Kazumi will provide a distraction so that Yoichi can get a good attack in.

As Yoichi finally captures the Shirayuki, he is unable to defend the stream of acid and cries out in pain as its burns through his skin… Nor is he able to defend himself as Yoichi flickers to appear in front of him with his arm grown to massive size as he swings back to literally punch through the man's chest and finish him off. As the water-made arm splatters and reappears without blood-stain, the Shirayuki falls to the ground covered in acid burns and bearing a massage hole in his chest. This enables the team to move forward and collect the data they need since the false data had not been completed. Mission accomplished.